Due to an increasing demand for electronic devices with increased speed and/or reduced power consumption, semiconductor devices require faster operating speeds and/or lower operating voltages. Magnetic memory devices have been suggested to satisfy such requirements. For example, the magnetic memory device can provide technical advantages, such as reduced latency and/or non-volatility. As a result, magnetic memory devices are emerging as next-generation memory devices.
A magnetic memory device includes a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). A magnetic tunnel junction may include two magnetic layers and a tunnel barrier layer interposed therebetween. Resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction may vary depending on magnetization directions of the magnetic layers. For example, the resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction is higher when magnetization directions of the magnetic layers are anti-parallel to each other than when they are parallel to each other. Such a difference in resistance can be used for data storing operations of the magnetic memory device. However, more research is still needed to mass-produce a magnetic memory device and satisfy demands for a magnetic memory device with higher integration density and lower power consumption properties. For example, forming a magnetic tunnel junction requires precise patterning of features on a substrate.